Archive for Bauxite Mining

Over the past several years, the Vietnamese Communist government has allowed many Chinese companies to conduct mining and labor projects on Vietnamese land. The widely contested Bauxite Mining project is a prime example of the many devastating projects approved by the Communist Party in Vietnam. Besides Bauxite Mining, there are many other projects that are detrimental to Vietnam’s land and its people. A large percentage of the workers involved in these projects are not even from Vietnam. They are, in fact, from China, working in Vietnam, devastating Vietnamese land, and terrorizing Vietnamese people.

According to Asia News (Friday, August 26, 2011), there are more than 74,000 foreign workers in Vietnam, 90% of them are Chinese. They occupy all areas of Vietnam, from the northern province of Lang Son, reaching all the way to the south, down to the province of Ca Mau. Even more disturbing however, is that the majority of these Chinese workers do not have permission to work in Vietnam, in other words, they are in Vietnam illegally. Of the 2,000 workers in Ninh Binh province, about 1,500 of them are illegal. For Ca Mau province, only 690 out of 1700 workers are permitted to work. These numbers should help illustrate the problematic situation in Vietnam, one that the Communist Party is doing nothing to fix.

The issue doesn’t stop there, disturbingly enough. Not only are these illegal workers poorly trained and unequipped to work, they are also guilty of terrorizing the Vietnamese locals on a regular basis. There are numerous reports of Chinese workers harassing and assaulting Vietnamese locals, such as shopkeepers and merchants. In many cases, the Chinese workers will refuse to pay for items or services provided for them. They would steal, threaten, and then return with large entourages of other Chinese workers to destroy the shops and businesses that had just serviced them. There are reports where hundreds, even thousands of illegal Chinese workers would beat local shopkeepers with weapons and tools, steal their merchandise, and tear down their businesses to the ground.

What does the Vietnamese government have to say about all this? Not much, apparently. After all, it was they, the Vietnamese Communists, who allowed China to send in their workers, terrorize, and destroy Vietnam’s economy in the first place. It is good that they have spoken in the Paracel and Spratly matter, but that is far from enough. There are many major problems that the Chinese have afflicted Vietnam with, many problems that the government has yet to address. The People’s Republic of China has invaded Vietnam in every way but one, military force. They’ve attacked Vietnam’s economic development, domestic politics, and the people’s way of life. This is a serious problem, one that the Communists in Vietnam are inadequate to deal with.

For nearly three years now, since late 2007, the Vietnamese Communist Party has been allowing the Chinese government to undergo several mining projects on Vietnamese land. These “Bauxite” mining projects are taking place in the Central Highlands of Vietnam, where many Vietnamese farmers were living before. The mining project has devastated and continues to devastate the environment in these regions and the people that live there.

The tea, coffee, and crop plantations that were previously in this region have been replaced by factories and power plants, causing tremendous pollution to the the area. As a result, the farmers of these crops have lost both their jobs and their homes. Many of the trees and forests in these areas have been torn down to make space for more factories and equipment, further destroying the habitat and wildlife in that area. The lakes where farmers once irrigated their crops are now being used to store “red mud,” toxic waste generated by the Chinese mining company.

General Vo Nguyen Giap strongly opposes the bauxite mining projects.

The “Bauxite” mining projects have been widely protested among the Vietnamese population. Many environmentalists, scientists, and even army officials oppose the mining projects, but the most prominent voice of all comes from the famous General Vo Nguyen Giap, one of the original founders of the Vietnamese Communist Party. Sending letters to the current Communist Party of Vietnam on three separate occasions, General Giap condemned the projects, pointing out the detrimental consequences that bauxite mining will have on Vietnam’s environment, economy, and population. His words however, have been ignored by the new leaders of the Vietnamese Communist Party.

It is obvious that these current Vietnamese “leaders” are allowing these projects to continue due to the pressures of the Chinese government. They claim that it’s a joint project with both Vietnamese and Chinese companies. If that were true, then why do the Vietnamese companies also protest to this mining project? Also, why are these detrimental and environmentally damaging projects only taking place on Vietnamese soil? Finally, if this was a joint project, then why are the majority of the workers on this site coming from China? The Chinese are aiming to destroy Vietnamese land and the Vietnamese government is letting them do it.

Bauxite mining is one of the biggest problems in Vietnam today and is one of the hot topics among Vietnamese bloggers. The government cowards are trying everything in their power to silence these voices of discontent among the population. However, the resentment is still there, and the people continue to oppose these bauxite mining projects. Guess what happens to bloggers in Vietnam who bring up the bauxite mining projects? That’s right, jail!